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Monday, 25 May 2015

Now, a release that fans had been craving for so many year, the one and only, the legendary and iconic, Ultra Magnus!

Pic Credit : Web

Ultra Magnus was first introduced in Transformers : The Movie in 1986, an elite soldier that was entrusted with the Matrix by Optimus Prime in his death bed (but the Matrix chose Hot Rod). Ultra Magnus was one of the main cast in the season 3 and 4 of US G1 series, all the way to G1 Headmasters.

G1 Ultra MagnusPic Credit : TFWiki

Ultra Magnus's G1 toy is actually a white version Optimus Prime with a convertable trailer that becomes his armor. This indirectly the reason why several version of his toys afterwards are a white repaint of Optimus Prime. Some, not all. There are few series where Ultra Magnus were designed uniquely such as in Robot In Disguise/Car Robot, Animated and also Transformers:Prime.

Dreamwave Ultra Magnus

In Dreamwave Generation One continuity, Ultra Magnus IS actually a white Optimus Prime. Ultra Magnus shed his armor in the episode Countdown to Extinction after he was shot down by Shockwave.

Pic Credit : TFWiki

In IDW Generations 1 continuity, Ultra Magnus is not just one bot. The 'immortal' lawman was close with Orion Pax, Skids and Delta Magnus where he fought alongside them in countless wars, witnessing a lot of historical event. However, after his death (the cause has yet to be revealed), Chief Justice Tyrest who was inspired by Magnus's legend, fashioned a suit of armor cast in Magnus's image and bestowed it upon a succession of other robots. Currently, Minimus Ambus is the mastermind under the suit of the legend.

Alt Mode

He's finally here!

Ultra Magnus comes in a box with the same design as the previous three Combiner Wars Leader Class figures (after Megatron, Armada Megatron and Thundercracker).

Might not be big but the artwork of Ultra Magnus is clearly based on IDW version of the character.

Back View

Ultra Magnus comes with a collector card and an instruction sheet, just like the previous releases.

Aside from the shoulder missiles, Ultra Magnus comes with 2 guns where one of them is based on the one used by Ultra Magnus in the comic book.

Alt Mode

First, let us start with the little guy.

Minimus Ambus transform into a small cybertronian car in white, with green stripes on the hood.

And when I said small, he really is small. At first, I thought he would be a legend class figure but instead he's closer to minicon size.

Back View

Ultra Magnus transform into a weaponize car/vehicle carrier, just like his G1 version.

Side View

The alt mode holds together nicely without any loose part at all. It does feel a bit light but understandable given his alt mode.

I'm not really fond of the feet sticking out like that, wished that they were tucked in better and not visible in alt mode.

There are few detailing on the truck cab, namely the front grill and the headlights. The paint apps are nicely done and the finishing is really clean.

Back View

The panels can be flipped down becoming ramps

There's no robot parts visible inside which is good. However, would've been better if they were all red.

The deck can be lowered forming a drive-up ramp to the upper deck, just like G1 Ultra Magnus's toy.

Turn? No problem!

Comparison

At first, I thought that Minimus Ambus is too small to be paired with Ultra Magnus in alt mode. However, upon closer inspection, it appears that Ultra Magnus is not a regular size car-carrier given the size of the windscreen, the sculpted door and the ladder.

Quite disappointing at first to see how small the truck cab of Leader Ultra Magnus is compared to the Classic Voyager version. However, if the truck cab is a big as the voyager version, Ultra Magnus will not be a Leader Class figure but rather Supreme size (based on the size of Trailerforce TF-01 who uses Classic/Henkei Optimus Prime as core body).

Just to see how small the alt mode is, Ultra Magnus can only carries 1 Deluxe figure on each deck.

Robot Mode

Minimus Ambus transformation is as simple as other Legend Class figure out there (3 steps).

Considering the size, the detailing on the figure is actually not that bad.

Side View

Back View

He doesn't come with a lot of articulation aside from ball-jointed shoulders and hips while his knees are on a hinge.

In robot mode, Ultra Magnus's chest can be opened revealing a nicely-sculpt cockpit for Minimus Ambus.

Loving him! I must say I don't have any regret at all selling my Fansproject City Commander. The transformation is quite basic, almost identical to G1 Ultra Magnus.

Side View

Back View

His robot mode is clean without any kibble hanging out anywhere. Kudos! Overall, he weigh roughly the same as previous Leader Class figures.

The headsculpt is nicely done, homaging G1 Ultra Magnus rather than the IDW version of him (as opposed to his overall design).

Personally, I think Ultra Magnus has the best detailing all around compared to the first 3 leader class figures.

The shoulder missiles are attached to a flap on the shoulders rather then directly so that they won't hinder his arm movement.

Comparison

To me, Ultra Magnus scaled nicely with Classic Optimus Prime even though he's a bit bigger than Fansproject City Commander.

However, compared to Megatron, he is surprisingly smaller if you don't count the tall shoulders.

Articulation wise, I'd say he is average. Despite his range of movement, he lacks a waist swivel which can should've existed as I can't see any problem relating to the design. Ultra Magnus head is on a hinge allowing him to turn to the side, the shoulders are on swivels and ratchet joints, the elbows, hips and knees on ratchet joints. The fingers are on a hinge allowing him to open his fists. The feet are on hinges so they can be tilted forward and backwards but there's no ankle tilt.

Magnus's guns can be used separately or combined into a long rifle. A common reported issue, Ultra Magnus can't actually hold his guns properly as there are not tabs to secure the weapons.

The guns and the shoulder missiles can be attached together forming Ultra Magnus's hammer, his traditional weapon since Transformers Animated era.

So what can I say? Loving him! Plastic wise, Ultra Magnus is a bit hollow and light, just like all recent releases. Going past that, the design is nicely done, a balance between G1 Ultra Magnus and the new IDW incarnation.